Paris handed over the Olympic flag to the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, setting the stage for the next Games in 2028 during a closing ceremony.
The Closing Ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games has concluded. It began with the entrance of French President Emmanuel Macron and IOC President Thomas Bach. The French national anthem, the famous “La Marseillaise,” was performed by the Orchester Divertimento, conducted by Zahia Ziouani, while the French flag was raised to the stadium’s roof by France.
After the athletes’ entrance, a 40-minute show directed by Thomas Jolly, with the code name “Record”, is scheduled to take place, emphasizing the unifying power of sports. “It is a reminder of the values of the Olympics in general, sharing, universality, and the fragility of the world,” said artistic director Thomas Jolly. More than a hundred performers, acrobats, dancers, and circus performers will transform the stadium into a giant performance hall, a giant concert stage.
Part of the show will take place in the air, with many passages “without safety nets at significant heights. The costumes, entirely recycled by Kevin Germanier (except for the clothes of the stars dressed by sponsor Dior), will be in a palette of gold, black, and rhinestones. Responsible for the musical accompaniment of the performance will be the Divertimento symphony orchestra, with the children of the Fontainebleau master school.
Speeches and the tradition in Los Angeles will follow, the city that will host the next Summer Games in 2028, 44 years after the 1984 Games. A performance lasting about twelve minutes was designed by Ben Winston, a British producer and director, who at 42 years old has already received 13 Emmy awards in his career. Singer Gabriella Wilson, known as H.E.R, who will sing the American anthem, while Tom Cruise in a new “Mission: Impossible” will transfer the Olympic flag from Paris to Los Angeles, with videos shot on both sides of the Atlantic. The highlight will be the extinguishing of the Flame at the Olympic altar.
In an impressive choreographed ballet, the Golden Voyager discovers the Olympic rings, which have risen from the floor of the Stade de France and are suspended in the air in the middle of the stadium.
French pianist and opera singer Benjamin Bernheim sang the Hymn to Apollo, while Alain Roche played a piano while suspended vertically in the air.
Greek Flag Barriers:
French Team:
Norway Team: